An aerial photograph showing the construction site of the future Islanders Stadium in Belmont Park on March 1, 2020.
John Keating | Newsday via Getty Images
The new stadium for the New York Islanders in Belmont Park finally has a name.
Swiss-based investment bank UBS has secured the naming rights for the new National Hockey League stadium, which will now be called UBS Arena. The deal is for 20 years, but a UBS Americas official declined to disclose the company’s annual fee for the rights. However, according to Sports Business Journal, which also reported on a transaction, the deal is worth $ 350 million and pays approximately $ 17.5 million per year.
As part of the deal, UBS, which is based in the US in New York City, will have increased brand awareness through exterior signage, placement of the UBS logo on the roof and location. your logo in the center of the ice for the NHL games. The $ 1.5 billion complex in Elmont, New York is located behind the Belmont Stakes track and is slated to open for the NHL season 2021-2022.
According to the statement announcing the agreement, UBS Arena and future development projects are expected to “generate approximately $ 25 billion in economic activity” and 3,000 permanent jobs in the arena for workers living in the surrounding communities.
In a conference call with CNBC discussing the transaction, the owner of the islanders, Jon Ledecky, said that UBS is making “a huge commitment to the New York economy overall with this deal.”
“This is a privately funded arena, and resources such as a naming rights agreement are critical to the project’s success,” he said, noting the “$ 100 million investment in transit in infrastructure improvements, including the first station of New York Railroad on Long Island in 50 years. “
Climate Pledge Arena Representation
Source: Amazon
Despite Covid-19’s concerns, Tim Leiweke, CEO of advisory firm Oak View Group, which helped secure funding for the building, said UBS Arena still plans to screen 150-200 major events annually. Oak View Group also secured Amazon’s naming rights to take over the Climate Pledge Arena, formerly KeyArena, in Seattle.
Seattle received an expansion of the NHL franchise in 2018. The unnamed team will be the 32nd NHL team and is expected to start playing in the 2021-2022 season.
Before Covid-19 suspended NHL games, the Islanders split the time between the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and their original home of the Nassau Coliseum since 1972. The team announced that they would return to Nassau County in December 2017 with construction. of the new 18,000- seat arena in Belmont Park
“This anchors once again the arena at Belmont and the islanders as a critical part of Long Island,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in the call with CNBC. “It will be a boom for the Long Island economy.”
The NHL will resume play on August 1 at Edmonton and Toronto after suspending operations due to Covid-19 on March 12.
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